Government and the Voluntary Sector - How should government manage this relationship?

This event, hosted at the Institute for Government, brought together a panel of speakers with experience within government and the voluntary sector to address the question, ‘how should the government manage its relationship with the voluntary sector?’ The event was part of the Institute’s and Big Lottery Fund’s ongoing work to connect government policy makers with voluntary sector practitioners and the Institute’s research on commissioning and charities. 

Institute for Government Senior Researcher Nicola Hughes introduced the event, highlighting that the voluntary sector has important roles in society as a voice in policy debates, as a galvanizing force in civil society and, increasingly in an era of government spending cuts, as a deliverer of many public services. Given government’s stake in each of these roles, Hughes noted that it is increasingly critical for government to consider how it manages this important relationship.

Dan Corry, Chief Executive of New Philanthropy Capital and chair of the panel turned the discussion over to the panel, asking how the government currently manages its relationship with the voluntary sector, and how it can do so better.

Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter and former Director General of the Office of the Third Sector focused on the importance of structures, highlighting the creation of the Office of the Third Sector (now the Office for Civil Society) in 2006 as a signal of government’s awareness of the importance of its relationship with the voluntary sector and its commitment to building that relationship.

Campbell noted that having a central team dedicated to this relationship was an effective way to work with voluntary sector to achieve common objectives through providing support, advice, and a platform for the spread of good practice. Despite this success, Campbell noted that there are limits to what the centre can do across the voluntary sector and that adequate political will and champions from across government are critical for sustaining such a team at the centre.

Clare Pelham, Chief Executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability turned the conversation to behaviours rather than structures. She reflected that the very question of whether or not the government should manage its relationship with the voluntary sector implies expectations of control rather than of a relationship of mutual respect and equality.

Pelham said it is important that both parties recognise that they share a common goal: to improve the world around them. Evoking marriage as an analogy, she suggested that both parties should keep three principles in mind in approaching their relationship:

1. Love – both parties should work to gain a better understanding of each other’s purpose and priorities;
2. Honour – from a understanding, a mutual respect must develop;
3. Obey – both parties must approach regulation and compliance with care.

Danny Kruger, Chief Executive of Only Connect, argued that the relationship between government and the voluntary sector should be more adversarial than marital. Given that government and the voluntary sector are fundamentally different entities with different objectives and interests he suggested there should be more of a distinction between them, not less, although he conceded that mutual respect and understanding might facilitate their interactions.

Kruger emphasized the importance of the voluntary sector, saying that it gives texture to democracy by providing a means for citizens to make collective action outside of government. He pointed out that a separation of the voluntary sector and government brings service delivery back to its roots, allowing citizen involvement in service delivery, rather than relying on government. He concluded that there may be more to gain from focusing efforts on collaboration among charities rather than involving a centralised government team.

Corry drew the event to a close, highlighting that they key takeaways from the event were that the voluntary sector is vital – and likely to become even more so in the future – and, as such, the issue of how to manage the relationship between government and the so-called ‘Third Sector’ will continue to be an important one.